Surah Sad 38:50
ﲄ ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ
Gardens of perpetual residence, whose doors will be opened to them.
Tafsir of Sad 38:50
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 38:50
(Jannat 'Adn) It is an *apposition of specification* (*badal ishtimal*). It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative case (*nasb*) out of praise. Al-Zamakhshari regarded it as an explanatory apposition (*‘atf bayan*) for "a good place of return" (*husn ma’ab*).
As for "‘Adn," it is said to be among the proper nouns that are dominantly used by estimation, and the necessity of its genitive construction or its definition with the definite article al- is dominant, as stated by Ibn Malik in al-Tashil. "Jannat ‘Adn" is like "Madinat Tayyibah" (the city of Tayyibah), not like "Insan Zayd" (the man Zayd), for the latter is ugly. Others say the proper noun is the totality of "Jannat ‘Adn," and this is also not among the dominant usage because the intent of the genitive construction that replaces the dominant proper noun is a construction that provides definition. According to both opinions, it is specific, so it is suitable for explanation.
However, Abu Hayyan criticized this by stating that grammarians have two schools of thought regarding ‘atf bayan: one is that it does not occur except with definite nouns, so it cannot be a follower except to a definite noun—this is the school of the Basrans. The second is that it is permissible in indefinite nouns, so it can be a follower to an indefinite noun just as the definite noun within it follows another definite noun—this is the school of the Kufans, and Al-Farisi followed them. As for them differing in indefiniteness and definiteness, no one has held this view except Al-Zamakhshari, as Ibn Malik explicitly stated in al-Tashil; thus, it is a construction based upon his own school of thought.
Others held that "‘Adn" is an infinitive (masdar) from "to reside in such and such a place," from which is derived al-ma‘dan (the mine) for the place where jewels settle. There is no proper noun status or transfer of meaning there. The meaning of "Jannat ‘Adn" is "Gardens of Residence and Permanence." If it is an explanatory apposition, then it is according to the school of the Kufans and Al-Farisi.
It is strange what Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn Abbas, who said: "I asked Ka'b about the saying of the Exalted: (Jannat ‘Adn), and he replied: 'Gardens of vines and grapes in Syriac.'" In the Tafsir of Ibn Jarir, it is stated that it is in Roman.
(Mufattahatan lahum al-abwab) It is either: 1. An adjective for *Jannat ‘Adn*, which is the view of Ibn Ishaq, followed by Ibn ‘Atiyyah. 2. A circumstantial qualifier (*hal*) for the pronoun hidden within the predicate of *inna*, the operative agent of which is the implied "stability" (*al-istiqrar*) or the prepositional phrase itself, due to its inclusion of that meaning and its substitution for it—this is the view of Al-Zamakhshari and the abbreviator, and his words support this. 3. A circumstantial qualifier for its hidden pronoun along with its operative agent, due to the meaning pointing to it; the estimation is "they enter them, [while they are] opened." This is the view of Al-Hufi.
Al-abwab (the doors) is the deputy agent (na'ib fa'il) of mufattahatan according to the majority, and the connector (rabit) returning to the Jannat is omitted; the estimation is "the doors thereof." The Kufans sufficed with the al- (in al-abwab) for this, as it takes the place of the pronoun, as if it were said: "Opened for them are their doors."
Abu ‘Ali held that the deputy agent of mufattahatan is the pronoun of the Jannat, and al-abwab is a substitute (badal) for it—specifically an apposition of specification (badal ishtimal), as is apparent from the words of Al-Zamakhshari. It is not correct for it to be a part-whole substitute (badal ba’d min kull), because the doors of the Gardens are not a part of the Gardens, according to what Abu Hayyan stated.
Zayd ibn ‘Ali, ‘Abdullah ibn Rafi’, and Abu Haywah recited it as (Jannat ‘Adn mufattahatan) with the nominative case for both, as they are two predicates for a hidden subject—i.e., "It—meaning the place of return—is Gardens of Residence, their doors opened for them," or "It is Gardens of Residence, [and] they are opened for them [with their doors]," or that they are a subject and predicate.
The aspect of the connection of the sentence to what precedes it is that it explains "the good place of return," because the essence of it is: Gardens whose doors have been opened as an honor to them. Or, it is parenthetical.